As you’ve probably already heard. On Friday afternoon, HBO basically told fans of the Sopranos and conspiracy theorists: “hey, you know all those theories you have? Well, they’re not totally offbase.”
HBO spokesperson, Quentin Schaffer spoke to David Chase and then told Reuters that those clinging to the theory that Tony was rubbed out might be on to something. The flashback sequence shown in the penultimate episode (that everyone and their mother has already noticed) where Bobby says to Tony “You probably don’t even hear it when it happens,” about ones death, is apparently a “legitimate” hint and Schaffer admitted that Chase did have a definite ending in mind.
Considering that Chase has said that he wasn’t scheming for some grand obfuscation and said, “Anybody who wants to watch it, it’s all there,” it appears to be pretty damn obvious, that yes, this was what he intended and everyone should just shut the fuck up already. “While he won’t say to me 100 percent what it all means, he says some people who’ve guessed have come closer than others,” Schaffer told Reuters. Wow, revelation there, huh?
“I think that is one of the most legitimate things to look at,” Schaffer said when asked about theories that the flashback was meant to foreshadow Tony’s death. The fact that this piece of dialogue was shown twice is kind of a nail on the hammer, frankly. “There are definitely things there that he intended for people to pick up on,” Schaffer said. Right, as if they world, having poured over every frame of this thing , hasn’t figured it all out.
Frankly, this is getting boring. This online nutcase, Bob Harris points out how painfully obvious some of it all is, yet simultaneously illustrates to the world that he hilariously reads into the silliest of insignificant details and needs to get a fucking life.
A slightly different take on things however, or at least something new to take note of is the appearance of shots that show Tony dressed in two different shirts in the final scene.
There’s the shirt everyone saw which is black with gray stripes.
Then there’s this shirt that’s blue and with white embellishment (and no, it’s not photoshopped):
This second, blue shirt, also seems to resemble the shirt wore in the aforementioned episode where Bobby and Tony have the heart to heart on the boat and speculating about what happens if/when you get killed and whether you even notice. What does any of this mean? Perhaps further proof that alternate scenes were indeed shot? (soneone’s going to point out that yes, the menu in the blue shirt shot is blurred out, but as a designer, trust us, that blue shirt it not a photojob).
Amusingly enough, Wikipedia had to lock the page for David Chase after Jersey mooks unsatisfied with the Sopranos ending defaced his entry and labeled him a “homosexual,” despite being married with children.
